When Charles Este became Bishop of Waterford in 1740, he found his official residence in the city in ‘so ruinous a condition that part of it has fallen down … and what is left is so small and dangerous to live in..’ He therefore had to hire another house but wrote to his immediate superior, Archbishop Bolton of Cashel, requesting permission to build a new episcopal palace. The architect responsible for this building was German-born Richard Castle, but Bishop Este dying in 1745 and Castle six years later the work was finished by local man John Roberts (who would go on to design Waterford’s new Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals). The palace is notable for its two facades being quite different on character. That on the garden side (above) is of eight bays with an elaborate pedimented breakfront treatment on the first floor. Meanwhile, the side facing the cathedral is simpler, with a Gibbsian doorway set into a rendered ground floor and the seven-bay first-floor being centred on a single pedimented window. These differences may be explained by the change of both client and architect (and fashion) before the building was completed. The Bishop’s Palace, having been beautifully restored, is today a museum focussing on Waterford’s 18th century history.
